Victoria Kolakowski (born August 29, 1961) is an American lawyer who serves as a judge of the

Alameda County Superior Court The Alameda County Superior Court, officially the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Alameda County as established by Article VI of the Constitution of California. It functions ...

since January 2011. Kolakowski is the first openly

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

person to serve as a

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

judge of

general jurisdiction A court of general jurisdiction, in the law of the United States, is a court with authority to hear cases in law and in Equity (law), equity of all kinds – criminal law, criminal, civil law (common law), civil, family law, family, probate, and oth ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the first elected to a judgeship, and the first to serve as any type of judge in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. (Houston Municipal Court Judge Phyllis Frye was the first openly transgender judge of any type in the

Early life and education

Kolakowski is the child of Martin and June Kolakowski of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. She is a graduate of

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and the first person in her family to attend college. Kolakowski graduated from

New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public university, public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida, United States. The college is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. New College has the smallest student enrollment in the State U ...

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Sciences in 1982. She earned a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

in 1987 and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...

in 1990. Kolakowski graduated from the

Paul M. Hebert Law Center The Paul M. Hebert Law Center, often styled "LSU Law", is a Public university, public law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System and located on the main campus of Louisiana State University. Because ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

with a

juris doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1989. She began her transition during her last semester of law school. Kolakowski underwent gender affirmation surgery in 1992 (this has previously been misreported as 1991). Kolakowski had to sue to take the

bar exam A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

in Louisiana after coming out as transgender. In 1997, Kolakowski received a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

(M.Div.) degree from the

Pacific School of Religion The Pacific School of Religion (PSR) is a Private university, private Protestant seminary in Berkeley, California. It maintains Covenant (religion), covenantal relationships with the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and the ...

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

Career

Before she was elected with 51% of the vote to her opponent's 48% on November 2, 2010, Kolakowski served as an

administrative law judge An administrative law judge (ALJ) in the United States is a judge and trier of fact who both presides over trials and adjudicates claims or disputes involving administrative law, thus involving administrative units of the executive branch of go ...

with the

California Public Utilities Commission The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC or PUC) is a regulatory agency that regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies. In addition ...

for four years. She was co-chair of the Bay Area Transgender Law Association from 1996 to 2000. She has been a member of the National Association of Women Judges since 2006. Kolakowski was president of the International Association of LGBT Judges from 2015-2017, and the first transgender person to serve as president of the organization. Kolakowski is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and a retired ordained minister in the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Christian denomination.

Honors and awards

*Stonewall Award by the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

- February 2025 *Equality and Justice Award by Equality California in 2011 *Susan B. Anthony Award by the National Women's Political Caucus - Alameda North in 2011 *Unity Award by the Minority Bar Coalition in 2010 *Outstanding Woman of Berkeley by City of Berkeley, Commission on the Status of Women in 1995 *Woman of the Year by the East Bay Lesbian/Gay Democratic Club in 1994 (Kolakowski was president of the East Bay Lesbian/Gay Democratic Club) *Named an individual community grand marshal for San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride in June 2011 *Named in October 2011 by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons of the LGBT History Month.

Personal life

Kolakowski married Cynthia Laird, news editor of the

Bay Area Reporter The ''Bay Area Reporter'' is a free weekly LGBT newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the largest-circulation LGBT newspapers in the United States, and the country's oldest continuously published ne ...

, on June 16, 2008.

Ron Dellums Ronald Vernie Dellums (November 24, 1935 – July 30, 2018) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011. He had previously served thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California ...

performed the ceremony.

References

External links